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MLB Betting Notes: LA's Ervin Santana searches for better command

LA's Ervin Santana tries to regain his form after three rough starts. The first inning has been problematic for Santana having allowed three runs in each outing. The home run ball is also an issue – as it has been for much of his career – with six long balls (two each game) allowed. According to Santana, his lack of command with the fastball has been the issue.

"There's not a lot he has to change to just give this team a chance to win," Scioscia said. "[Finding fastball command] is not that big of an adjustment. It's all in his delivery. He can make a quick fix."

"The location of the fastball — that's why we have bullpen sessions — I need to keep it down and control it," Santana said.

NBA Gambling Preview: Phoenix and Utah duke it out for playoff berth

A lot riding on tonight's Phoenix-Utah game. If the Jazz win, they clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference. If the Suns win, and then beat San Antonio (who already clinched the top seed), they are in.

"The whole season has been up in the air for this team," Suns guard Steve Nash said. "We lost our first game, and we've been fighting ever since to get back in position to make the playoffs. Here we are, with two games left, with a chance to win both and go to the playoffs. We're happy to be here. We're excited to go out and have a big game.

"Whatever we throw out there, we've got to find a way to scrap and fight and claw to get it done."

MLB Handicapping: Miami's Johnson tries to get things right

Good article on the early season struggles for Miami's Josh Johnson. His batting average against currently sits at .400 with a BABIP of .452. Both stats should be considered somewhat unlucky even with the dip in velocity. He's also struggled against lefties, inducing just two swinging strikes in 95 pitches. Then there is the issue of Johnson favoring his change-up over the curveball while he continues to mend from last year's shoulder issues.

NBA Betting News: NY Knicks likely to face Chicago or Miami in the first round

Article from the New York Post on the Knicks and their game plan the final two games of the regular season. New York has a shot to slip into the sixth seed if it wins its final two games AND Orlando finds a way to lose to Charlotte and Memphis. We agree; that is an unlikely scenario. So it looks as if New York will face either Chicago or Miami. One scout said the Knicks could give the Bulls trouble, especially if Derrick Rose isn't healthy.

“With Rose not anywhere near 100 percent there really is no other player on the Bulls that I believe can cause problems in every game of a seven-game series with the Knicks,’’ the scout told The Post. “With Miami, even if Dwyane Wade (dislocated finger) is not 100 percent, LeBron [James] is at least capable of carrying them every game of a seven-game series.

“I will say this, though,’’ the scout added. “Both of those teams would love to avoid the Knicks. Especially now that Woody has Carmelo playing like the star they were hoping they traded for. The Knicks could be the

NBA Handicapping: Boston Celtics not interested in home court for playoffs

The Boston Celtics don't appear very interested in extending themselves any more than they have to the final two games of the regular season. "Rest and rhythm" rather than home court advantage are the two most important things according to head coach Doc Rivers. Boston has already locked up the fourth seed and knows it will be playing Atlanta in the first round.

"Home court is great; you want to have home court," Pierce said. "You want to try to play for home court, but at the end of the day you want to be healthy first.

"I mean, we're definitely a better home team than we are a road team, but at this point we feel like if we're healthy we have a

MLB Gambling News: Boston Red Sox continue to entertain

It almost as if these Boston Red Sox blogs write themselves. For starters, they actually won a game last night though it wasn't pretty (now 12-30, -26.8 units since last September). Daniel Bard threw out of the bullpen but will apparently start on Friday – sounds like a panic move to us? Earlier this morning, an article in the New York Daily News said that Bobby Valentine and Mike Aviles got into a fracas during spring training and there was a "near player revolt." Everyone on the team pretty much denies it took place. Oh, and the team decided to pick up Marlon Byrd after he started the year Read more

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MLB Betting Notes: Roy Halladay not himself but results remain strong

Differing opinions regarding Philadelphia's Roy Halladay. Everyone knows his velocity is down but it is hard to argue with the 1.50 ERA in four starts (all quality). Some say that Doc is just reinventing himself as he approaches his 35th birthday in May.

One rival official who saw the pitcher in his third start against the Giants told me that the pitcher was “laboring more than usual . . . . really grinding.” Two who saw him Saturday night against the Padres had different opinions.

One said Halladay seemed normal, except for a slight downtick in velocity and a slightly lower release point. The other expressed more concern, saying Halladay looked “a little weathered . . . like he’s pitching late in the season after logging 180 innings.”

He is throwing 51 percent cutters, 23 percent curveballs and 16 percent splitters, all increases over the past two seasons (Halladay had thrown

Online gambling movie Runner, Runner expected to be Rounders-esque

Sources say Affleck will play an online gambling czar named Ivan, a young “Teddy KGB” with a speedboat, reminiscent of Affleck’s fantastic character in 2000′s Boiler Room. Timberlake will play an online gambler putting himself through school who proves himself to Affleck’s character and scores a job in an international gambling racket.

Upcoming movie about illegal online gambling

Teddy Covers' early NBA Playoff Betting Preview

It’s not unusual for a middle-of-the-pack baseball team to get hot at the right time and carry that momentum all the way to a World Series title, like the St. Louis Cardinals did last October. In the NFL, we’ve seen similar situations out of Wild Card teams that get hot at the right time and carry that momentum all the way to a Super Bowl victory, like the Giants and Packers have done over the past two seasons. In the NHL, regular season results mean even less – last years’ Stanley Cup win from the no. 3 seed Boston Bruins was no shocker when looking at historical data from the past 20 years.

The NBA is different. Talent and playoff experience, not momentum, tend to produce winning results in these physical, grueling seven game playoff series. Only one true longshot, the sixth seed Houston Rockets, has won a title in the last 30 years, and the Rockets were the defending champs at the time; not a true longshot per se. When the third seed Mavericks won the title last year, it was considered to be a major shocker. Bottom line: the best NBA teams in the regular season tend to be the best NBA teams in the postseason, as long as they stay Read more

MLB Handicapping: Milwaukee's offense struggles to produce

Since starting the season 3-1 (23 runs), the Milwaukee Brewers have gone ice cold with the bats. Over the last 11 games, the Brew Crew are 4-7 and hitting .212 with a .281 OBP as a team.

Tonight, they may not need many runs with Zach Greinke on the hill. Milwaukee is 19-0 in Greinke's last 19 starts at Miller Park dating back to last season. That success however is certainly reflected in a price that is now well north of -200.

"It's a tough loss," said Gallardo, who got virtually no offensive support in seven innings of eight-strikeout work. "We're not where we want to be or need to be (offensively) now. We just need one (at-bat) right now to get things going. We have the guys to do that."

MLB Gambling Notes: Shaun Marcum's crazy BABIP baffles bettors

I almost spit up my coffee this morning when I read that SHAUN FREAKIN’ MARCUM is currently tops in all of baseball (starters) in swinging strikes at 15.4% (league average is 8.4%). All of you have seen Marcum pitch and while he throw strikes and doesn’t issue many walks, his stuff is more baffling than impressive. He swinging strike rate obviously won’t last but perhaps even more amazing has been Marcum’s ability to maintain below league average BABIP for such a long period of time.

Since 2007, Marcum has thrown 725.1 innings with a rock solid 3.67 ERA and 48-29 record. During that span, his yearly BABIP numbers are: .269, .246, .280, .264, .250...for an average of .266!

I went on Baseball Reference and looked up other starting pitchers who have had similar career paths and found that none of them are even close to being that fortunate. Yovano Gallardo's lifetime BABIP is .302, Jair Jurrjens' is .297 and Daisuke Matsuzaka's is .292. Marcum has had one "normal" season (only 78.1 IP) BABIP wise with a Read more

NBA Gambling Notes: New Jersey plays final home game before move to Brooklyn

Final home game for the New Jersey Nets before making the move to Brooklyn next season. Their opponent, Philadelphia, needs to win one of its final three games (or a Milwaukee loss) to secure the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Las Vegas man pockets $53K from NCAA Tournament contest

Cool story about the guy who won Station Casino's Last Man Standing NCAA Tournament contest. Contestants had to pick one game against the spread every day of the tournament. The gentleman who won went a perfect 10-0 but he got some fortunate bounces including Xavier -4.5 vs. Lehigh (Xavier was down by 17) and Louisville +1.5 vs. Florida (Louisville outscored Florida by 15 points over the final 10 minutes). For his efforts, he took home the $53K grand prize – on a $25 entry free. Sweet!

“I told myself that if I was going to lose, I was going to lose with my own picks,” Cohen said. “I wasn’t going to take anyone else’s advice and lose.”

NBA Betting News: Breaking down the final week of the regular season

Update on the NBA Playoff picture with "magic numbers", probable matchups and what is at stake the final week of the regular season. The Bulls and Spurs appear destine for top seeds. Boston-Atlanta is a confirmed matchup. Milwaukee must go 3-0 and Philadelphia 0-3 for the Bucks to get in. Tuesday's Utah-Phoenix outcome is likely to determine the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

NBA Handicapping: Bulls not interested in backing off final two games

With only two regular season games remaining, the Chicago Bulls are pretty much a lock for the top seed in the Eastern Conference (two game lead over Miami). But some of the player quotes suggest they won't be taking those final two contests (at Indiana, vs. Cleveland) lightly.

“We can’t look back,” forward Taj Gibson said. “We’ve got to keep pushing forward. We know we want to finish strong, that’s the main thing. We want the best record. What team wouldn’t want that after going so hard during this condensed season? We’re going to go after it. I know Thibs isn’t a fan of resting guys. We don’t want rest. It’s the time of the season where you can’t really rest.”

“You can control what you can control,” center Joakim Noah said. “Right now, it’s all about getting better. It’s all about getting a little momentum for the playoffs. But we know Indiana is going to come ready to play, and it will be a playoff atmosphere there.

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